Smart Water: The Power of an Optimized and Data Driven Water Supply System

The KVC Smart Pump Control, built on the technology of Rockwell Automation, made its debut in Malaysia at the largest water and wastewater event for developing Asia - the Asia Water Expo 2018, held in April at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre.

The pump provides operational excellence with an intelligent motor control system to optimise water delivery. This enables state water operators to maintain sustained water supply to their customers in Malaysia while cutting the cost of power consumption at the same time, thanks to cutting edge technology from Rockwell Automation.

Water operators today face numerous challenges resulting from environmental factors, increasing demand, water wastage or scarcity, as well as costs due to increased energy/electricity prices and overwhelming expenses of repair works and replacements. These factors may be a hindrance to operators who need to ensure maximum efficiency of water distribution, as they can affect the quality and the quantity of water distributed.

However, technology advancements have made possible the development of smart solutions that water operators can leverage to counter some, if not all, of these concerns. The smart pump system through its array of unique and smart features counters these pain points of water distribution companies.

This intelligent system monitors the demand of the water supply at any given time, then operates all the pumps at their most efficient speeds to meet the demand while saving on energy consumption. This control system from Rockwell Automation provides an estimated 20-30% energy savings compared to the conventional controls that are widely being used in the water industry currently.

The Rockwell Automation system is made possible by an algorithm that locates the best efficiency point of the pumps where the flow rate is maximum. The pumps are then operated within these best efficiency points to maximize the throughput and energy savings.

But that’s not all. The integrated motor protection features built into this intelligent system help to ensure the pumps and the motors have a longer life cycle while advanced predictive diagnostics protect the system against downtime due to damage from motor winding, motor bearings, motor shaft or even pump cavitation.

In the long term, operators will benefit from the reduced and more effective operational cost, resulting in improved profitability. 

The smart pump comes with the added benefit of condition monitoring deployment that allows remote control of the water distribution system from a dashboard on your desktop or phone – wherever, whenever – which provides significant convenience in operational access and systems handling regardless of the plant location. Besides improved productivity, the data collected is a source of intelligence for operators.

This Smart Pump Control, which is already being used by several water distributors throughout the United States, is now available in Malaysia. The system can be customised to meet the needs of the water industry in Malaysia.